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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Vacations are my favorite summer pastime, starting with the first trip I took as child to taking my own children on our annual summer vacation. I’m often reminded of vacations past, those fun weeks camping with my parents, brother, and sister. We saw beautiful sites, despite a few bumpy roads along the way, and I want my own daughters to experience many of those places firsthand. Luckily, my daughters enjoy travel just as much as me.

As we traveled through Wisconsin on the way to our final destination in Minnesota for this year’s vacation, I was dazzled by the spectacular views of rolling farmland, forested hills interspersed with marshy wetlands, and even a couple of cranberry bogs. The perfect weather made the scenery even more breathtaking, with its resulting bright, blue skies and puffy, white clouds. We sped along Interstate 94, trying to make time, but I knew that the back road scenery would be even more impressive. With pristine rest stops situated every hour up the road, we stopped to stretch our legs, and at one stop, we even took a brisk hike along a trail lined with white pines and several oak species.

My husband drove while I navigated. In between route changes and rest stops, I typed away on my laptop, making use of some rare downtime to review and edit my latest work in progress, When Nature Calls. I’m really excited about my newest book, the first book in the Nature Station Mystery Series. While writing a cozy mystery is a far cry from the Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk educational children’s books I’ve already written, both series focus on nature. When Nature Calls is a fictional book, but hopefully readers will enjoy learning tidbits about nature, while they attempt to solve the murder mystery.

I can’t wait for this book to be finalized and released, but I know I must be patient, as I finish self-editing it before sending it to a professional editor. Layout will follow, and I’m anxious to see the book cover, which will feature two of my own photos. I already have ideas for my second book, A Natural Selection, and can’t wait to start writing it.

Nature’s beauty inspires me to write and photograph, and nature is the main theme of all my books. Everything is connected in the natural world, and there are many natural cycles. The same is true with my life. One thing is relates to another, and what goes around comes around. I believe that life is a journey, and travel plays a large role in my life. I love to see new places and experience new cultures. Reading, writing and publishing books is also a journey, and it’s hard for me to imagine my life without the ability do these things, since they help enlarge my mind and world. I like to think that my appreciation for nature and writing began on those early family summer vacations and hope that my daughters will gain something from our trips as well.